New survey finds ingredients that trigger Rosacea

A new survey identifies the most common culprits that trigger rosacea flare ups.

The survey of just over 1,000 rosacea patients carried out by the National Rosacea Society identified several types of skin-care products and ingredients that often trigger rosacea flare ups.

The biggest offender for women was toners, used to tone skin before applying cosmetics. Almost 50& of women found that toners were the most common trigger for a rosacea flare up.

Coming in second on the offender list was perfumed soap, which in 40% of cases triggered a flare up, and the third offender was exfoliating products, which triggered rosacea flare ups in 34% of women.

Other common triggers for women were makeup, accounting for 30% of flare ups, perfumes caused flare ups for 27% of participants, moisturisers 25%, and surprisingly hairspray caused flare ups in 20% of rosacea sufferers.

For men, the biggest offender for causing flare ups was shaving lotion which effected 26% of those surveyed said flare-ups had been caused by shaving lotion, while soap accounted for 24% of flare ups. Creams containing chemical SPF’s aggravated rosacea in 13% of men surveyed.

Other frequently aggravating topical ingredients for both men and women included witch hazel, which affected 30% of those surveyed, menthol 21%, peppermint 14% and eucalyptus oil 13%.

However aside from skincare, haircare and fragrances, the top offender for both men and women was alcohol which triggered rosacea flare ups in a whopping 66% of sufferers.

But it wasn’t all bad news, despite the variety of skin-care products that sufferers found aggravated their rosacea, 78% of the women and 56% of the men said they had found effective skin-care products that do not irritate their condition.